MEET THE MENTORS
SDF’s next round of mentors will be announced in February.
Please contact our Program Manager, Christopher Everett at chris@southerndocumentaryfund.
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The SDF Mentorship Program is designed to pair established filmmakers and industry experts with emerging and new filmmakers. We provide support, which includes one-on-one mentorship, roundtable discussions, and feedback on work samples.
SDF’s next round of mentors will be announced in February.
Please contact our Program Manager, Christopher Everett at chris@southerndocumentaryfund.
Jethro Waters is a multi-award winning Writer, Director, Producer, and Cinematographer of documentary, narrative, and music videos. Waters’ documentary feature debut F11 AND BE THERE was among the New York Times Critic’s Picks in 2020, won an Emmy Award and screened in select theaters internationally. He made his narrative feature film debut with GUNFIGHTER PARADISE. Waters wrote, produced, directed, and shot this North Carolina based dark comedy that features Jessica Hecht, Valient Himself, and was Executive Produced by Nancy Buirski. His short documentary film REMAINS was selected for the Civil Rights museum exhibition “I Am a Man” curated by William R. Ferris (UNC), and exhibited in art museums internationally. His music video work with acclaimed artists like John Cale, Angel Olsen, among many others, has been featured in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The New York Times, Spin, Pitchfork, NPR and reached millions of viewers across the globe.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Zaire has been awarded honors at multiple film festivals, made history by being the first filmmaker to ever win Best Hometowner Documentary Short and Best Hometowner Narrative Short at the Indie Memphis in the same year [2023], created work for PBS, and granted the If/Then and HULU grant to produce her award-winning short documentary, SLICE, which is now streaming on The New Yorker.
Zaire Love is a graduate of Spelman College [BA], Houston Baptist University [M. Ed], and the University of Mississippi [MFA]. She directs the Southern Foodways Alliance film program and is the Executive Director, Creative at Scalawag Magazine. She is writing new narrative scripts and exploring new documentary ideas with her studio, Creative Cornbread.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Stephanie Kuo is the Vice President of Content at PRX, leading the public media organizatin’s content strategy and overseeing new acquisition, management and sustainability of its podcast and broadcast portfolios. Stephanie is an award-winning public radio journalist and independent podcaster, dedicated to building out a more radical and nimble public media system as well as a more open and accessible podcasting industry in the U.S. and abroad through creative and strategic content development.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Southern Documentary Fund
Durham, NC 27701
info@southerndocumentaryfund.org 919-308-3714
P.O. Box 2614, Burlington, NC 27216
SDF is committed to making its programs and the facilities we use accessible to people of all abilities. If you need special accommodations, please contact info@southerndocumentaryfund.org or call (919) 308-3714.
One-on-one mentorship sessions and mentorship roundtables are only available to SDF supported makers at this time. An SDF supported maker is someone who has received a grant through SDF, or is fiscally sponsored by SDF. We will be hosting a limited number of mentorship webinars in the future that will be open to all.
